


Goodnight Moon

by Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Dr. Seuss Books, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-22
Updated: 2007-10-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:51:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5491121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedwords/pseuds/Rachael%20Sabotini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>McElligot's Pool was some of the worst science he'd ever read outside of a textbook</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodnight Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Christy for doing the beta.

Rodney's never been a fan of Dr. Seuss. Too many improbable angles, too many unrealistic colors. And as for the stories... well, _McElligot's Pool_ was some of the worst science he'd ever read outside of a textbook, and all of the moralizing, ugh. Even at four, he picked the Seuss stories last, only reading them because that's all the allergist stocked.  
  
Other than _The Cat in the Hat_ , of course. Rodney had his own well-thumbed copy of that book, and he read it whenever he was stuck in bed because of an allergy attack. Thank god allergy treatments put an end to most of that.  
  
Madison's favorite was _One Fish, Two Fish_ , and, every visit, either he or John had to read it to her, even though she was more than capable of reading it for herself. Usually on the night that Jeannie and Caleb took advantage of their babysitting houseguests to go out to a dinner, just the two of them, at one of the nicer vegetarian restaurants in town, leaving John, Rodney, and Madison to spend the night hanging out.  
  
Dinner was real cheese mini-pizza and chocolate soy milk, using whole wheat pizza dough that Jeannie made up the night before. Madison liked to pull the dough into odd shapes and ignore the sauce, dumping pineapple on top of her cheese, while Rodney liked turn his into something more like a bowl, so it could hold the most cheese possible.  
  
Pulling them out of the oven, Rodney swore that John's was shaped like a heart, which lead to him picking up kitchen duty for the night.  
  
Rodney puttered around in the kitchen, putting away the baking pans while Madison would ask John to read to her. Peeking around the doorway into the living room, Rodney watched as she curled up on John's lap, book in hand; John looked totally gob-smacked as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She tucked herself under John's arm, and he pulled the blankets in tight around them; Rodney ignored the rest of the dishes so he could get a good look. Reading was obviously serious business for John, with his arched eyebrows and pursed lips and weird vocal inflections that gave Madison a case of the giggles.  
  
His own laugh was more of a manly chuckle.  
  
John waved him over to the couch, and with a mental shrug, Rodney tossed the dish towel onto the kitchen table and joined them. They read through a stack of ten books together, and Rodney insisted that Madison take a turn as well.  
  
She was a pretty good reader. Eventually it was bedtime, and while most kids made bids for water or to have the monsters chased out of their closets, Madison wasn't like that. Once her head hit the pillow, she slept. Rodney loved that she had inherited the McKay ability to drop into a deep slumber with a flick of a light; it meant that he and John had a chance to spend some alone time together. They each gave her a goodnight kiss, and John turned out the light. Rodney closed the door behind them and they heard her singing softly in the moonlight, the sound falling away as she slid into sleep.  
  
With a flash of teeth, John tugged Rodney over to him, and wrapped his arms around Rodney's back, pulling him in for a sweet goodnight kiss, his lips soft and his mouth tasting of tomatoes, oregano and garlic.  
  
It was a very good night.


End file.
